North Carolina Highway 147
North Carolina Highway 147 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 NC 147 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by NCDOT | ||||
| Length | 7.9 mi[1] (12.7 km) | |||
| Existed | 1987–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  I-885 in Durham | |||
| North end |  I-85 in Durham | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | North Carolina | |||
| Counties | Durham | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
North Carolina Highway 147 (NC 147) is a North Carolina state highway. The route is a 7.9-mile-long (12.7 km) freeway that connects the Research Triangle Park (RTP) to both Western Wake County and the city of Durham. The whole section of NC 147 is known as the Durham Freeway. Before 2022, NC 147 extended down to NC 540. The portion of NC 147 between I-40 and the East End Connector became a part of Interstate 885 on June 30, 2022, when the East End Connector was completed, and the portion between NC 540 and I-40 was redesignated as NC 885.
Route description
The route's entire length is a limited access freeway, linking I-885 with Downtown Durham, U.S. Routes 15 and 501, Interstate 85. It is a fairly urbanized commuter-route and suffers from peak-traffic during conventional rush hours. Speed limits on the freeway range from 55 mph (89 km/h) to 70 mph (110 km/h).
From I-885 to its northern terminus, the route is known as the Durham Freeway, and serves as the primary artery through Downtown Durham. The Durham Freeway portion was originally envisioned as an alignment of I-40, though the interstate was built to the south of the city center instead. The Durham Freeway received the NC 147 designation in 1986. From I-885 to the Briggs Avenue exit the freeway goes primarily north-south, with wide medians and shoulders and interstate-grade entrance and exit ramps. Entering Downtown Durham past Briggs Avenue, the road turns towards a more southeast-northwest alignment, and narrows considerably, with narrow medians and shoulders, and short entrance and exit ramps, following a depressed road cut to the south of Downtown Durham, passing several major landmarks including the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (visible to the north of the roadway), the Durham Performing Arts Center, and the American Tobacco Historic District. Past Downtown Durham, the freeway passes through Duke University, forming the boundary between East Campus and Central Campus.
Past Duke University, the road reaches its northern terminus in a complex interchange with the U.S. 15-501 Freeway and I-85. Motorists must use U.S. 15-501 for access between I-85 south and NC 147 south, or between NC 147 north and I-85 north. At the actual northern terminus, traffic on NC 147 north merges with I-85 south, while I-85 north traffic can enter NC 147 south using exit 172.
Dedicated and memorial names
NC 147 features one dedicated stretch of freeway. The Buck Dean Expressway is the official name of NC 147 within the city limits of Durham that was approved on December 14, 1984.[2]
History
The Durham Freeway began with a 1962 bond referendum.[3] The first section of the road, completed in 1970 around downtown Durham, extended from Chapel Hill Street to Alston Avenue and resulted in the destruction of a portion of the Hayti neighborhood as part of urban renewal,[4] though a DOT engineer said the neighborhood likely would have been torn down anyway. The road was later extended west to Erwin Road and southward to where it meets I-40. In 1986, The freeway was designated as North Carolina Highway 147. The road's other names have included East-West Expressway and the I.L. "Buck" Dean Freeway.[3]
In 1979, planners said many of the city's roads needed widening, and the decision was made to extend the freeway to I-85. The first section in 1982 disrupted the Crest Street neighborhood, but the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) moved 181 houses instead of tearing them down, an action that resulted in a 1987 third-place Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) award for "historic preservation and cultural enhancement".[3] Eventually, the problems that caused the original I-40 extension to I-85 to be delayed were overcome, and NC 147 was extended through the city.[citation needed] Work began in 1993, and the eastbound lanes opened May 21, 1997.[5] The section connecting the road to I-85 opened July 31, 1998.[4]
On September 6, 2011, the south terminus at T.W. Alexander Drive (exit 4) was permanently closed to make way for NC 147's extension to NC 540 in Morrisville; this made I-40 the temporary southern terminus for three months. On December 8, 2011, the southern extension was opened. Dubbed the Triangle Parkway, the 3.4-mile (5.5 km) stretch of road is also part of the Triangle Expressway.[6][7][8][9]
Despite the spur to T.W. Alexander Drive being permanently closed, the pavement was never removed, and the abandoned section still sits just south of NC 147's interchange with I-40. (35°53′41″N 78°52′41″W / 35.894653°N 78.878140°W) The road markings are also visible.
Interstate 885
 | It has been suggested that this section should be split into a new article titled Interstate 885. (discuss) (June 2022) |
Interstate 885 | |
|---|---|
| Location | Durham |
| Length | 8.57 mi (13.79 km) |
| Existed | June 30, 2022–present |
Interstate 885 (I-885) is a freeway linking I-40 in Research Triangle Park and I-85/US 15 in Durham. Its first appearance was on August 19, 2014, when the October project letting was released, which included I-885 in the sign plans.
The Interstate begins at I-40 exit 279, then goes north along the former route of NC 147 to the East End Connector, a newly built roadway to bridge the short gap between NC 147 and US 70. Continuing north concurrently with US 70, it ends at the I-85/US 15/US 70 interchange (exit 178). The NC 147 designation was removed from the existing route south of the interchange with the new connector, and the exits of the rump NC 147 (leading northwest into downtown Durham) have been renumbered to reflect its truncation. The route between I-40 and I-885, encompassing the segment no longer designated as NC 147, the new connector itself, and the segment of existing US 70 that leads to I-85, are designated I-885 and its exits renumbered accordingly. The East End Connector began construction in March 2015,[10] and opened to traffic on June 30, 2022.[11]
The NCDOT 2020-2029 Final STIP released in September 2019 indicates a project that will widen 3.9 miles of NC 147/I-885 to 6 lanes from the East End Connector Project south to I-40 at a cost of $1.8 million is scheduled to start in 2024.[12]
Junction list
The entire route is in Durham, Durham County.
| mi[1] | km | Old exit | New exit | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — |  I-885 south – RDU Airport | Continuation as I-885 | |
| 0.4 | 0.64 | — | 1A |     I-885 north to I-85 / US 70 – Henderson, Greensboro, Petersburg | ||
| 1.1 | 1.8 | 10 | 1B-C | Briggs Avenue – Durham Technical Community College | Signed exit 1 northbound | |
| 2.0 | 3.2 | 11 | 2 |  NC 55 (Alston Avenue) | ||
| 2.5 | 4.0 | 12A | 3A | Fayetteville Street – North Carolina Central University | ||
| 2.9 | 4.7 | 12B | 3B |    US 15 Bus. / US 501 Bus. (Mangum Street/Roxboro Street) – Downtown | To Durham Bulls Athletic Park | |
| 3.3 | 5.3 | 12C | 3C | Duke Street | No southbound exit;to North Carolina Museum of Life and Science | |
| 3.7 | 6.0 | 13 | 4A | Chapel Hill Street | ||
| 4.4 | 7.1 | 14 | 4B | To US 70 Bus. / Swift Avenue – Duke University East Campus | To North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and Northgate Mall | |
| 5.1 | 8.2 | 15A | 5 | Elba Street / Trent Drive | Northbound exit, southbound entrance; to Duke Medical Center | |
| 5.5 | 8.9 | 15B | 6 | Hillandale Road / Fulton Street | To Veterans Affairs Medical Center | |
| 6.4 | 10.3 | 16 | 7 | US 15 / US 501 to I-85 north – Chapel Hill, Duke University West Campus | Signed as exits 7A (north) and 7B (south) | |
| 7.9 | 12.7 | — | — | I-85 south – Greensboro | Continuation as I-85 | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||
References
- ^ a b Google (July 1, 2022). "North Carolina Highway 147" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
- ^ "North Carolina Memorial Highways and other Named Facilities" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 29, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
- ^ a b c Bloom, Jonathan (July 26, 1998). "30-Year, 12-Mile Project Completed". The Herald-Sun. Durham, NC. p. A1.
- ^ a b Bloom, Jonathan (August 1, 1998). "Durham Freeway's Last Leg Opens". The Herald-Sun. Durham, NC. p. A8.
- ^ "Durham Freeway's New Lanes to Ease Eastbound Travel". The Herald-Sun. Durham, NC. May 21, 1997. p. C1.
- ^ "Triangle Expressway". North Carolina Turnpike Authority. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ "State's First Modern Toll Road Opens Today". The News & Observer. Raleigh, NC. December 8, 2011. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
- ^ "Section of N.C. 147 in Durham to Close Sept. 6" (Press release). North Carolina Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on December 24, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
- ^ "Crosstown Traffic—RTP Commuters: The NC 147 Southern Spur Is Closed Today, for Good". The News & Observer. Raleigh, NC. September 6, 2011. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
- ^ "East End Connector". North Carolina Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
- ^ "Durham's East End Connector to open to drivers this afternoon" by Monica Casey and Nia Harden, June 30, 2022 (WRAL.com)
- ^ "2020-2029 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
External links
